Do You Need the Yellow Fever Vaccine to Travel to Colombia?

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In April 2025, Colombia declared a national health emergency due to an outbreak of Yellow Fever.

As part of its efforts to combat the outbreak, the government has called for a nationwide vaccination campaign and for travelers from other countries to also be vaccinated.

That begs the question, “Do I need the Yellow Fever Vaccine to travel to Colombia?”

The answer, at least for the time being, is probably not, but maybe.

And even if a yellow fever vaccine requirement to enter Colombia doesn’t apply to you, it might still be recommended.

Read on to learn exactly what the current situation with Yellow Fever is in Colombia, and who needs to get the Yellow Fever vaccine for Colombia travel.

Colombia Yellow Fever Vaccine Requirement

Colombia’s declaration of a national emergency due to a Yellow Fever outbreak has led to some conflicting information on whether the Yellow Fever vaccine is mandatory to travel to Colombia.

In this post, I’m going to try my best to explain what’s happening in the current outbreak and who is or is not required to get the Yellow Fever vaccine to enter Colombia.

I’ll try to update periodically if the situation changes, but please do keep in mind the last updated date listed below and the disclaimer that I am not an official government source or representative.

Last update: May 24, 2025

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Current Yellow Fever Outbreak in Colombia

According to the original press release announcing the health emergency from Colombia’s Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (MinSalud) there had been 75 total confirmed cases, with 34 confirmed deaths, with cases in 9 of the country’s departments since the start of the outbreak in September 2024 and its published date of April 17, 2025.

The vast majority of the cases have been in the department of Tolima, where had been 59 cases, followed by 7 in Putamayo, with just one or two cases reported in the other affected areas.

There aren’t more recent numbers published by MinSalud since that declaration on April 17 and my publication of this post (see last updated date above).

However, this article in El País cites 83 cases, with 37 deaths, and states that 65 of the cases in Tolima up to its publication date of May 3. It includes an interview with a doctor in Tolima who points out that the cases advanced rapidly in Spring 2025.

The most recent statistics I could find as of this latest update is from this article, from a Costa Rican newspaper announcing the new requirement that people traveling from Costa Rica to Colombia have the vaccine, and published on May 20.

It states there have been 90 confirmed cases and 40 confirmed deaths.

Where is the Outbreak Located?

The outbreak is located primarily in western-central Colombia and remains mostly in small, rural towns.

According to the emergency declaration, Colombia has not seen an urban outbreak of Yellow Fever since 1929, but there is concern there is a risk the current outbreak could spread to urban areas.

That risk is due to more frequent travel from higher risk areas to cities than in the past, the relatively rapid spread of the current outbreak, and the fact that there has been at least one confirmed case in Caldas, in the Eje Cafetero (coffee growing region) that has not historically been considered an area of high risk for the disease.

The doctor interviewed in the El País article linked above mentions that there is a “latent” risk of the outbreak spreading to urban areas and she describes this scenario as “catastrophic.”

Since this is a site primarily focused on Cartagena, I’ll point out that there have been 0 cases in Cartagena’s department Bolívar, and the 9 departments with cases are all located far away from Cartagena.

If you happen to be planning a trip to Cartagena, don’t let this current Yellow Fever outbreak stop you, but do check out my tips for getting started here.

What is Yellow Fever?

Yellow Fever is a disease caused by a virus spread by mosquitos that can cause flu like symptoms (fever, headache, body ache, chills, fatigue), nausea, and vomiting.

Severe cases can lead to yellowing of the skin, organ failure, bleeding, and death.

According to the US’s CDC and the WHO, most people who are infected with Yellow Fever have no are very mild symptoms, and likely remain unaware they were infected, while approximately 1 in 7, according to the CDC, develop the more serious form of the disease.

For those that develop severe disease, the death rate is quite high. The CDC says it’s 30-60%, the WHO approximately 50%, and Colombia’s MinSalud between 40-50%.

According to the numbers in the emergency declaration 45.3% of the confirmed cases had caused death, so I’m going to assume the numbers they are reporting are for severe cases only, with the number of people infected with a mild form of the disease probably higher.

Yellow Fever Vaccine

The Yellow Fever vaccine contains a live, weakened version of the virus, and is recommended by the CDC and WHO for anyone who will travel to a high risk area that is over 9 months of age.

It is considered highly effective with the vaccine providing protection within 10 days for at least 80% of people, and providing protection within 30 days for 99% of people, according to the WHO.

According to the CDC, the vaccine is believed to give lifelong protection, although some experts recommend a booster before traveling to high risk areas if it has been more than 10 years since your last shot.

Note that for the purposes of international travel, if you receive the vaccine and need to show proof as a requirement to enter a country or area, you’ll generally need to have it 10 days before. You’ll also need to have the yellow WHO book that shows the record.

Trust me, don’t lose that book!

Funny (looking back on it) story, Susana and I had to change our flight, and pay a big fee for it, for our honeymoon because we had Colombian domestic proof (on white paper) of our Yellow Fever vaccines but not the yellow international book.

Actually, I’ve had the Yellow Fever vaccine 3 times due to losing that book (oh, and if you’re wondering, I’ve had a child, don’t have a third leg, and don’t appear to have developed autism but I do have that little yellow book kept in a safe place now).

Getting the Yellow Fever Vaccine in Colombia

It’s worth pointing out that Colombia provides the Yellow Fever vaccine free of charge to anyone, including foreign nationals. Health offices as well as bus stations and airports in some cities, may have places to get the vaccine.

There’s a nice map showing the areas traditionally considered to be at higher risk and a list of vaccination sites on this MinSalud page (this page does not appear to be specifically updated for this current outbreak).

So, is the Yellow Fever Vaccine Mandatory for Colombia?

So, since the publication of the health emergency, I’ve seen some reports on social media and online news outlets that the Yellow Fever vaccine is indeed mandatory to enter Colombia.

Some of our helpful(?) new AI chatbots and search engines seem to suggest the same.

However, there’s no big announcement from Migración Colombia.

Also, since it’s a 10 day period between vaccine and it being considered valid for travel, the idea that every international traveler will have to show proof of the Yellow Fever vaccine to enter Colombia seemed iffy to me.

Hence this blog post.

The short answer is, no, for the vast majority of travelers entering Colombia, the Yellow Fever vaccine is not mandatory.

However, there is some ambiguity, as well as some caveats.

First, the emergency health declaration states, in point 8 of its resolutions, the government will “request vaccine cards from international travelers that enter the country.”

This is the quote I’ve seen parroted on social media and some news outlets, and it does seem to state a Yellow Fever vaccine is required.

However, it goes on to say, “the vaccine should be taken at least 10 days before entering areas of risk.” Well, why not just say the vaccine should be taken 10 days before entry into the country? This suggests, maybe it’s only required if going to a high risk area

Finally, it says, “this measure will be adjusted following the WHO’s recommendations to avoid affecting tourism and commerce.”

Which seems to suggest, maybe they won’t require it if the WHO doesn’t and if it negatively affects tourism, which obviously it will.

So, while that first sentence seems to sound very matter of fact, the following ones make it ambiguous at best.

Then there’s this other page from MinSalud, which says Colombia has a “non-restrictive recommendation of the Yellow Fever vaccine for travelers entering the country,” but does go on to say that proof of vaccination may be required by municipal authorities in high risk areas.

That’s been long standing policy though, and there is no date on that page.

However, I can’t find a clear statement of the vaccine as a requirement on any official Migración Colombia page either. The standardized pages on the websites Colombian consulates about travel requirements like this one from the New York consulate, state all travelers entering Colombia from Brazil are required to show proof of Yellow Fever vaccine.

There is also this CDC page that says it is required for all travelers over 1 year of age arriving from the following countries:

• Angola
• Brazil
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Uganda

That also seems consistent with what I’ve understood to be long standing policy, and there’s no clear indication of when that was updated.

I haven’t seen any anecdotal reports from travelers in Facebook groups or other forums saying they were required to show proof of the vaccine or denied away if they did not have it.

However, this article from Costa Rican newspaper El Observador states that beginning May 21, travelers from Costa Rica will have to show proof of a Yellow Fever vaccine vaccine to enter Colombia, completed at least 10 days before departure.

So, unless you’re coming from one of those four countries, I’d feel safe for the time being saying you most likely will not be required to show proof of Yellow Fever vaccination to enter Colombia.

My interpretation and impression here is that they would probably prefer people entering the country have the vaccine, but they also don’t want to outright deny entry to those without it with the exception of people coming from other high risk countries.

Should I Get the Yellow Fever Vaccine Before Traveling to Colombia?

If you’re looking for my honest advice, it’s not something I’d be terribly worried about. I wouldn’t cancel a trip in the next 10 days or even the next 90 days if you don’t have the vaccine or anything like that.

No major tourist destination has been heavily affected, and Colombia does good work on controlling mosquitos in urban areas.

Conventional wisdom has long held the vaccine is not required or really worth worrying about at all for travel to major cities in Colombia, while it has been considered a smart precaution for travel to more rural coastal and jungle areas that people get out of an abundance of caution.

However, if you can get the vaccine easily and are willing to, it’s not a bad idea, especially if you’ll be traveling to rural areas.

It’s worth pointing out that some national parks and destinations do require it, such as Caño Cristales, Leticia, and Mavecure and I’d imagine it’s very much within the realm of possibility they may require it to enter the hardest hit areas, especially if the outbreak continues to grow.

I’d expect in places like Tayrona, where it’s technically a requirement but not often strictly enforced, it might be enforced a bit more if the current outbreak continues to grow as well.

The fact they declared an emergency means they are concerned about its spread, so it’s possible they may adopt stricter requirements. I’m not sure it makes the most intuitive sense to me that preventing travel from places that aren’t really affected does much. So, I lean towards it being unlikely travelers from the US, Canada, Europe, or most other places will be required to have proof of the Yellow Fever vaccine anytime soon.

Still, I will try to keep this updated (see the last updated date at the top), but I’d also recommend checking with your country’s embassy.

Also, airlines, who usually are ones who have to enforce the requirements at the risk of being liable to return people who are denied entry, are good sources. For what it’s worth, I don’t see any airlines saying it’s a requirement for all travelers entering Colombia to have the Yellow Fever vaccine as of this last update.

Check Your Home (or Next Destination) Country’s Policy Too!

I should conclude by pointing out that when considering whether you need to get the Yellow Vaccine to travel to Colombia or not, you should also check your home country’s policy and the policies of any other countries you plan to visit as well.

As I mentioned above, when Susana and I traveled to our honeymoon in Jamaica from Colombia, we were required to show proof of the vaccine when we checked in for our flight. It seems possible that if the current outbreak continues, more countries may require it for those who are arriving from Colombia.

For example, Ecuador announced it would begin requiring Yellow Fever vaccination from travelers arriving to Colombia effective May 12, 2025.

Costa Rica announced it would require Yellow Fever vaccine proof for travel from Colombia beginning May 21, 2025.

There’s not to my knowledge any consolidated list of what countries require the vaccine, so you’ll need to double check if you plan any onward travel from Colombia before returning home.

I hope you found this post useful and helpful in clearing up some of the confusion over whether the Yellow Fever vaccine is required to enter Colombia.

Please do share in the comments if you find any other official information that suggest policy is changing!

Cheers and Safe Exploring!